Enquirer staff and wire reports

HIGHLAND HEIGHTS, Ky. - Junior center Jesse Rupe had 13 points and six rebounds as Northern Kentucky opened its season with a 70-62 victory over Findlay in the first round of the John L. Griffin/Lions Club Classic at Regents Hall.

The Norse will play Kentucky State, which defeated Ohio Valley 87-57 Friday, in the championship game at 7:45 p.m. today. Findlay and Ohio Valley meet in the consolation game at 5:30 p.m.

Brenden Stowers was held to 1-of-5 shooting from the field but went 10-of-14 from the free-throw line to total 12 points for NKU (1-0). Stowers also had five assists for the Norse, who shot 56 percent (14-of-25) in the first half and led 39-29 at halftime.

Quentin Smith scored 12 points and grabbed a team-high eight rebounds for NKU, and Mike Kelsey added 11 points.

Findlay (0-1) was led by Frank Phillips' 13 points. Charles Warren, Tyson McGlaughlin and Roni Gordon each had 10 points for the Oilers.

NORTHERN KENTUCKY 70, FINDLAY 62

Findlay (62)--Gaines 1-3 0-1 2, Phillips 4-10 5-8 13, Rethman 1-5 2-3 4, Warren 4-12 0-0 10, McGlaughlin 3-7 2-3 10, Pfeifer 1-5 1-2 4, Metzger 3-6 2-2 9, Gordon 4-8 2-2 10, Dalrymple 0-2 0-0 0, Staley 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-58 14-21 62.

Northern Kentucky (70)--St. Preux 1-3 0-1 2, Rupe 6-8 1-2 13, Seabrooks 2-3 5-9 9, J. Stowers 0-0 0-0 0, Kelsey 3-8 2-2 11, Howell 2-5 0-0 6, Smith 6-12 0-0 12, B. Stowers 1-5 10-14 12, Rowland 1-2 2-2 5, Murphy 0-0 0-0 0.

Halftime--Northern Kentucky 39, Findlay 29. 3-point goals--Findlay 6-20 (Gaines 0-1, Phillips 0-1, Rethman 0-2, Warren 2-5, McGlaughlin 2-5, Pfeifer 1-4, Metzger 1-2). Northern Kentucky 6-14 (St. Preux 0-2, Kelsey 3-7, Howell 2-3, B. Stowers 0-1, Rowland 1-1).

Thomas More 64, Viriginia Wesleyan 60

Four players scored in double figures for TMC in its season opener. Kyle Booth and Mark Klein each scored 13 points, while Marcus Johnson added 12 and Chad Wachs 10.

Booth also led TMC with nine rebounds.

TMC trailed 27-26 at halftime, but the Saints shot 48 percent from the field in the second half as they rallied.

THOMAS MORE 64, VIRGINIA WESLEYAN 60

Thomas More (64)--Johnson 3-9 3-6 12, Thompson 2-3 0-0 4, Booth 5-13 2-2 13, Wachs 2-8 6-6 10, Thurman 0-4 0-0 0, Klein 3-4 6-6 13, Rhye 1-2 1-1 3, Stallworth 3-5 1-6 7, Mulberry 1-4 0-0 2, Johnson 0-3 0-2 0, Hardy 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-55 19-29 64.

Virginia Wesleyan (60)--Fitch 1-5 0-0 2, Park 0-4 0-0 0, Doino 4-9 2-3 10, Warren 5-14 1-2 12, Hammonds 2-3 0-0 5, Foster 0-1 0-0 0, Blazer 1-7 0-0 3, Gobble 3-6 2-2 9, Northam 1-4 0-0 2, Kahle 6-10 4-4 18.

Halftime--Virginia Wesleyan 27, Thomas More 26. 3-point goals--Thomas More 5-12 (Johnson 3-5, Booth 1-4, Klein 1-1, Mulberry 0-2), Virginia Wesleyan 5-27 (Fitch 0-2, Park 0-1, Doino 0-3, Warren 1-6, Foster 0-1, Blazer 1-5, Gobble 1-4, Kahle 2-4).

No. 6 Connecticut 85, Wright State 39

STORRS, Conn. - Sixth-ranked Connecticut followed its perfect season with a less-than-perfect start, but got 18 points from freshman Nicole Wolff.

Diana Taurasi, the lone starter from the last season's 39-0 national championship squad, finished with 15 points and seven assists.

The Huskies opened the game with three straight turnovers and finished with 25. They relied on 5-of-5 free-throw shooting and a 3-pointer from Wolff to scratch out a 10-6 lead in the first 6 minutes.

Tiffany Webb, the only Raider in double figures, led Wright State with 16 points.

The Huskies unveiled the national championship banner in a pregame ceremony highlighted by the return of last year's All-American senior class - Swin Cash, Asjha Jones, Tamika Williams and player of the year Sue Bird.

It was only the second meeting of the two teams. UConn posted a 58-point win over the Raiders last season in Dayton. The Huskies are 21-8 in season openers.

LOUISVILLE

Women's basketball coach Martin Clapp will be missing from the bench when the Cardinals open their season Sunday at Evansville after he was suspended for a secondary NCAA recruiting violation.

Clapp's suspension is part of a stiff set of penalties the school imposed on itself for the NCAA violation discovered in August. Athletics director Tom Jurich suspended Clapp for one game.

Between October 2001 and February 2002, NCAA coaches were allowed to evaluate players in person a total of 40 days. A university investigation found that Clapp's assistants exceeded that number by 12 days.

The two assistants who made most of the extra visits are no longer with the team, but Jurich said the unusual action of suspending a coach should send a message that he takes even minor violations seriously.